Strata management involves handling a strata corporation’s financial, maintenance, and administrative needs to ensure smooth operations and preserve the value of the community. t C&C Property Group, our role is to support and guide the Strata Council on behalf of homeowners, protecting their investments and helping create thriving communities.
In British Columbia, both strata management companies (brokerages) and individual managers must be licensed, ensuring a high standard of professionalism and compliance.
The job of a strata management company is extensive and includes:
At C&C, we go beyond basic responsibilities, offering a boutique approach that combines proactive communication and personalized care to help your strata thrive.
While strata and property management share similarities, they are distinct services with different licensing requirements.
At C&C, we specialize exclusively in strata management. This dedicated focus ensures that our only priority is serving your strata community without the potential conflict of interest often found in larger firms that manage both rental properties and strata corporations. This commitment means your strata’s success is always our top priority.
A strata council is a group of owners elected during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) tasked with managing the operations of the strata corporation. Typically consisting of 3–7 members, the council ensures the community is well-maintained and represents its interests.
Their key responsibilities include:
Are are some key traits of effective Strata Councils and its members:
Strata councils are essential to creating a thriving community. With the right support (like partnering with an experienced strata management company), they can make managing a strata seamless and successful.
In British Columbia, the Strata Property Act (SPA) governs all strata corporations and their owners. This legal framework establishes the rules and responsibilities for strata councils, owners, and managers.
Compliance with the SPA is critical to safeguarding the community, as non-compliance can expose owners to risks, including potential lawsuits or legal disputes.
An experienced strata manager, like those at C&C Property Group, is well-versed in the Strata Property Act and can provide expert guidance to your council. From navigating complex bylaws to ensuring decisions align with the Act, your strata manager is a valuable resource for maintaining compliance and protecting your community.
Responsive, Reliable, Flexible, and Trusted are hallmarks of the relationship between our strata managers and council. It is a very important relationship, and we care for your strata like it is our own. Our people receive training and ongoing support to ensure they provide our clients with the best possible service, and you always have access to our managing broker and accounting team if you need assistance.
We use Condo Manager as our accounting platform. The information is easy to read and makes reviewing monthly financial statements easy.
For accounts payable we use Sparcpay. It offers council (typically the treasurer and president) the opportunity to approve all invoices before they are paid, view any prior invoices, and it supports EFT payments which speeds up the payment process.
We will be implementing an online owner portal (e.g. for amenity bookings or fob purchases) by year end.
C&C is a family-owned mid-sized company with a long standing history in North Vancouver. You’ll find we’re big enough to offer you rigorous procedures and technology, yet small enough for personal attention and flexibility to meet your needs. You won’t get lost “in the big machine” at C&C; all clients have direct access to our Managing Broker their property accountant if they need.
We have a best-in-class accounting team, responsive and accessible strata managers, and we get stuff done.
The workload of a strata manager is significant and our managing broker works with both the manager and council to ensure the needs of the clients are being met. When we look at portfolio size we look at both the number of council meetings as well as buildings. Managers with smaller or less complicated buildings will typically have fewer council meetings than larger buildings with more council meetings. Our managers have between 60 and 70 council meetings per year.
Financial statements are delivered by the 20th of the month following. All are prepared on an accrual basis, and are reviewed by our Controller for quality assurance before distribution. Each package also includes a copy of each invoice paid, each cheque printed, a list of arrears, and the bank statements and their reconciliation.
All invoices are also viewable online at any time in our invoicing portal, including the audit trail of who approved them and when. For example, this can be useful for easily searching what a vendor charged for a service last year.
C&C has a group of very experienced team members and some who are newer to the industry. For example, two-thirds of our accounting team have over 10 years’ experience in strata while one-third are within their first five years. As for our strata managers, we have a range from new licensees to 20-year veterans. Frankly, we find ‘years of industry experience’ to be a poor indicator of manager quality. We have had 6-month rookies who outperform 20-year veterans. There are core skillsets that are more important than experience: organization, attention to detail, ability to communicate, and composure. Equally important, our Managing Broker has decades of experience and works closely with each manager 1-on-1 to ensure the team is supported – that’s one advantage of being a mid-sized boutique.
An annual seasonal maintenance calendar is a great starting point and something all stratas should have in place. We have a template that allows managers to track maintenance and work with clients to ensure the work is completed.
Further, we expect all managers to have an organizational system to track that action items are executed between council meetings. We believe you should be able to rest easy knowing directives agreed to at the last meeting will be complete before the next meeting without needing to ask “any update on that window cleaning?”.
C&C is the agent acting on behalf of the owners, at the direction of council. We execute based on council’s direction. We also ensure that council and committees have access to the guidance and expertise of our team, for example regarding compliance with the Strata Property Act or dealing with difficult owners.
Absolutely. C&C can assist with the administrative management of projects; it is also important to have subject matter experts assist with special projects. We would be happy to discuss your specific needs. Project support does come with an extra fee.
We have an after-hours call service available 24/7, and the strata manager is contacted for instructions if the issue cannot wait until the next business day.
Switching property management companies is a significant decision that should align with your strata’s values and goals. Here’s what we recommend:
Ready to explore your options? Book a Free Consultation with C&C Property Group today.
A signed agency agreement allows us to get started. We have a very experienced transition team who works with the outgoing management company, the banks, and the trades to ensure the hand-off is smooth. We open bank accounts, and ask the outgoing management company to release information to us, which the Strata Property Act requires them to do. We message the owners to ensure they have ample time to sign up for pre-authorized payments. Once management with C&C begins we collect the files and funds (post-dated cheques, if applicable) and set up the first council meeting.
The first council meeting allows the strata manager to meet council, explain our procedures and discuss how council likes to operate, learn about any ongoing maintenance or other items we need to carry forward, and get to know the nuance of the building.
Despite our best efforts, this does sometimes happen. We want to act quickly, while also ensuring your next manager is the right fit. Typically, you can expect a change within two weeks.
We are a locally owned company that believes in providing personalized service to each client. We have a best-in-class team that is dedicated to managing strata corporations. As a mid-sized firm with around 100 clients, we have the tech capabilities and rigorous procedures of a large company, but we avoid bureaucracy or treating our clients like a number. Our Managing Broker knows each and every client and is always available to them, which sets us apart from national or international firms.
Our office is located in North Vancouver, and we proudly serve communities throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, including Vancouver, West Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Langley, Delta, Abbotsford, and Maple Ridge. For strata corporations in smaller cities or remote areas across British Columbia, we also provide comprehensive remote management services, ensuring access to high-quality strata management solutions wherever you are.
Looking for strata management services in your area? Contact Us to see how we can help.
C&C is a great blend of very deep expertise and useful technology, and yet is small enough to provide boutique-level service. We spend significant time developing our people, and hold them to high standards; and ultimately, strata management is a people business. Visit they Why Us page to learn more.
Our pricing is tailored to the unique needs of each strata corporation. Factors such as the frequency of council meetings, the age of the building, the type of amenities, and complexity (e.g., commercial/residential sections) all play a role in determining costs. We aim to offer reasonable rates while ensuring our team is compensated fairly for their expertise.
Interested in getting a quote? Request a Proposal to find the right solution for your strata.